European Kingdoms

Iberia

Kingdom of AragonAD 1035 -1516

Formerly part of the kingdom of
Navarre, Aragon, on the
Mediterranean east coast of Spain, comprised the Catalan-speaking portion
of Iberia. One of the earliest counts of Aragon had taken over the
county of Urgel (close to Andorra)
during his exile from his own lands in 820-824.

The
kingdom captures Saragossa. The new capital is established at Aragon.

1162

Aragon achieves union with the County of
Barcelona, expanding the
kingdom of Aragon to encompass it.

1162 - 1196

Alfonso II the Chaste

1174

The younger sister of Alfonso II, Dulce Berenguer, marries Sancho I of
Portugal,
thereby securing an alliance between the two kingdoms and recognition of
Portugal's right to exist as a kingdom.

1196 - 1213

Pedro II

1212

Caliph Muhammad suffers a devastating defeat by the Christian Iberians of Aragon,
Castile,
Navarre, and
Portugal at Los Navos de Tolosa. Humiliated, they are forced to give way,
and their army never fully recovers from the disaster. In the east, the empire
fades as local tribes begin to rebel against
Almohad rule and control over more territory is gradually lost, along
with domination of the western Mediterranean Sea.

Ongoing battles between the Almohads and the Iberian Christians
would end up in North African defeat at the Battle of Los Navos
de Tolosa in 1212

Shortly after taking office,
Pope
Boniface VIII sweeps all existing agreements and treaties aside with his
proclamation of a 'Kingdom of
Sardinia and
Corsica' that
will, naturally, be a fief of the papacy itself. Boniface offers the fief to
James II along with papal support should he wish to abandon his territory on
Sicily in exchange for
invading Pisan-supported Sardinia. James does not immediately take up the
offer.

1323

James II forms an alliance with Giudice Hugh II of Arborea to conduct
a campaign to take the Pisan-occupied territories of
Cagliari and
Gallura.
This they do, also capturing the city of Sassari, which lies immediately
south-east of Porto Torres on Sardinia. The territory is claimed as the
'Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica', with Hugh and James ruling jointly,
although Hugh still commands Arborea under his own authority while a viceroy
governs the captured territories for Aragon. It takes until
1326 for Pisa to officially cede Sardinia in its entirety.

Peter IV invades Sardinia in the continuance of Aragon's claim to rule all
of Sardinia. He attacks Arborea, intending to remove the independence of
Giudice Marianus, or destroy him entirely and claim the whole island.
Marianus ends the alliance with Aragon and instead sides with Aragon's
enemy, Genoa, which also infuriates the Pisans, but Marianus remains
undefeated. The so-called 'Kingdom of Sardinia and
Corsica' retains its
status as a crown territory, rather than being incorporated directly within
the kingdom of Aragon, although Corsica has not even been conquered.

1369

The death
of Pedro of Castile
triggers a fight for the throne. Peter IV is among the competitors, as are the
kings of Navarre and
Portugal,
and John of Gaunt,
English
duke of Lancaster. In the end it is Pedro's illegitimate brother who gains
the throne, and all parties seek peace talks from
Pope Gregory XI.

1372 - 1378

An opportunity for Peter to press his claims to overlordship of
Corsica arises
thanks to Genoese rule of the island still being resisted by the barons of the
south and the hereditary caporali in the north. He sends a force to conquer the
island, which it does under the leadership of Arrigo della Rocca in 1372. In
a sudden about face after years of opposition, Cape Corso's barons appeal
for help to Genoa, which is distracted by other problems.

1383 - 1387

Aragon continues to fight Arborea for control of the island of Sardinia, but
Giudice Eleanor's effective governance of the war sees Aragon lose almost
all of its Sardinian holdings. Arborea now controls much of the island and
Eleanor is able to negotiate a treaty that is very favourable. She also
continues her father's alliance with Genoa, which secures the independence
of Arborea for the time being.

1387 - 1395

John I

1388

Eleanor of Arborea signs a pact with Aragon which finally delivers peace to
the island of Sardinia.

Matthew, count of Foix, viscount of Castellbò, and co-prince of
Andorra, invades Catalonia to
further his claim to its throne upon the death of John I of Aragon. He is
forced to abandon his attempt in the face of Martin the Humane's stronger
claim which also appears to threaten his own position in terms of Andorra.

1408 - 1409

William III of Narbonne lands on
Sardinia on 8 December
1408 to be crowned king, but Martin the Humane's son, Martin the Younger, has
already landed a force of his own from
Sicily (on 6 October),
with a subsidiary force of men under the command of John I, future count of
Foix and co-prince of Andorra.
The two meet at the Battle of Sanluri in 1409, and the battle is a disaster for
William. He is forced to flee to
France for assistance,
but Martin of Sicily dies of malaria a few days after the battle.

1410 - 1412

The
death of the Aragonese heir, Martin the Younger in 1409 is quickly followed
by that of his father, causing an interregnum in the rule of Aragon. As
there is no direct heir to the throne, it passes to another dynasty, that of
the Trastámaras. Its representative, Ferdinand, becomes the new king of
Aragon through the terms of the Compromise of Caspe of 1412.

Alfonso appoints Luis de Pontos as the first Aragonese viceroy of the island
of Sardinia, although
at this stage he only controls sections of it, with the native Arborea
stubbornly holding onto the majority of territory.

1420 - 1421

The titular giudice of Arborea, William II of Narbonne, sells his title to
Alfonso V, although differing sources also claim that Regent Brancaleone Doria
sells the position of giudice to Aragon in 1409. Either way, the remaining
giudici of Arborea on the island of
Sardinia are titular only, with little
real power. Alfonso is also attempting to gain control over
Corsica. With
his own general now in charge of most of the island, he arrives in 1421 to
take personal possession. Calvi falls to his fresh forces, but while Bonifacio
refuses to surrender, a general revolt is triggered by his heavy taxes.
Alfonso agrees terms with Bonifacio, which remains an independent Genoese
city state, and he withdraws from the island.

1438

Ferdinand's daughter, Eleanor, the widow of King Edward of
Portugal,
becomes regent to her six year-old son, Alfonso V.

The
marriage of Isabella, soon-to-be queen of
Castile
and
Leon, to Ferdinand II, heir to
the throne of Aragon, Navarre,
and
Sicily, on 19
October lays the foundation for the political unification of all of
Spain under their grandson,
Charles.

1494

The
Treaty of Tordesillas of 7 June divides the New World between the joint
kingdom of
Castile
and Aragon and
Portugal, giving the
latter the opportunity to exploit
Brazil.

1501 - 1509

The daughter
of Isabella and Ferdinand, Katherine, marries Arthur Tudor, elder son of Henry VII of
England.
Arthur dies in 1502, and in 1509 Catherine marries his brother, the
soon-to-be-crowned Henry VIII. Also in ths period, in 1505, Ferdinand II
marries Germaine of Foix, thereby bringing the lordship of
Andorra under Spanish rule.

1507 - 1516

Ferdinand waits patiently for matters regarding his daughter, Joanna, to
reach a head in
Castile.
In 1507, with the regency council there clearly unable to solve the
kingdom's problems, he returns to take control as Ferdinand V of Castile,
ruling as regent in his grandson's name.

1512 - 1513

Most of
the kingdom of Navarre is seized
by Aragon and then Castile
under Ferdinand of Navarre and then his son, Charles. Pamplona is occupied,
Upper Navarre is annexed, and the title of viscount of Castellbò is confiscated.
For a brief period Ferdinand also holds authority over
Andorra.

1516 - 1517

With
Ferdinand's death, his kingdom is inherited by Charles I of
Castile
and Aragon is merged permanently with it, unifying
Spain. Aragon itself is
administered by a viceroy well into the seventeenth century.